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Rakesh Roshan has turned down OSO girl Deepika Padukone. The film, starring Hrithik Roshan could have been Deepika’s ticket to the A-list in Bollywood.

Our sources, however, say that Deepika was not suitable for the role so she was shown the door. When contacted Rakesh Roshan confirms that they are not going ahead with Deepika. He says, “I am in the process of working on a film which will be directed by Anurag Basu. We may work with Deepika for some other film.”Anurag Basu, who is directing the film endorses, “We are yet scouting for the female lead.” As for Deepika, he says, “Deepika didn’t fit the role. We’ll definitely work with her in future for some other project. It’s quite a complex character and we are looking out for a female lead.”

After they dumped Deepika, Roshans are now looking at casting a non-Indian for the role. Says a source, “Filmkraft (Roshan’s production house) and Anurag have been auditioning girls. The female lead needs to be a Salsa dancer.”

The film is a romantic-action-thriller which will be shot abroad. It is scheduled to go on the floors by March 2008. Apparently, the film is based on Latin dance forms and Hrithik will be seen performing a lot of salsa.

Things have ended between Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor. It has already been said that the newly-flourished love between the two upcoming actors has died out completely.

The story has moved forward now. Or backward, actually. To rewind a bit, when love blossomed between Deepika and Ranbir, she had promptly moved out of then boyfriend Nihar Pandya’s house with whom she had been living for the past two years.

Now, we hear that after her break-up, she has promptly moved back with Nihar again.

Says our source, “Things were just not working out for Deepika and Ranbir and they decided to call it quits. Now she has moved back with her ex-boyfriend, Nihar Pandya with who she had been staying ever since she shifted to Mumbai from Bangalore. Incidentally, she has also recently bought herself a house in Bandra.”

The source adds, “The Om Shanti Om production team needed to send across some documents and dialogue sheets to Deepika’s place for her to read. When the production member asked for her address, Deepika said, ‘Send it on my old address’. When the production member asked whether she meant her earlier address, Deepika made things very clear by saying, ‘Yes, my old address. I have moved back with Nihar.’”

When contacted, Deepika refused to answer our question. She simply said, “Nihar and I are good friends and we continue to be so. But I am single, and the only love of my life right now is Om Shanti Om and my new house. I am very happy doing it up.”

There’s trouble in lovers paradise. Sometime ago, it happened to tinsel ville’s hottest couple, Bipasha Basu and John Abraham, then Lara Dutta and Kelly Dorji suffered the 8-year itch, and now it’s the newest jodi in Bolly-town who is facing rough weather. It’s Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor. We’ve heard that the duo had their first lovers’ tiff; they didn’t even talk to each other for a few days. In fact, our sources claim Deepika and Ranbir almost called it quits, till better sense prevailed. All thanks to a few common friends, the couple is back together, allegedly much in love all over again. With two firebrands, it ain’t all that easy, you see.

Ever since news of Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone (the gal who’s caused a flutter without flapping her wings) being paired for Rohan Sippy’s film hit the headlines, filmi folks haven’t stopped talking about the casting coup. Must admit, it’s quite a fashionably fresh pair – with Akshay’s brawny, rugged, macho looks, and Deepika’s svelte, sexy, stunning appeal – we think this jodi will be the pick of the season. After Shilpa Shetty, we thought Priyanka Chopra looked next best with Akshay, but well, Deepika’s already slipped into her shoes. What say, Priyanka, koi aitraaz?

She walks across the room with a confident yet measured stride, head held up high, eyes ablaze with determination. But interestingly, there is something about Deepika Padukone that tells us that somewhere within that seemingly reserved exterior there lives a simple and shy 21-year-old girl who can’t wait to conquer the big bad world of Bollywood.

Well, the hype surrounding her is already there and why not! For November 2007 will see Deepika make her debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om (OSO). Hype or no hype, Deepika is nonplussed. “Hype is great. Although I have never gone out of my way to generate it,” smiles Deepika with an intelligent viewpoint on all the buzz she has garnered. “For me, hype only means double the hardwork and it pushes me to work with even more intensity. But that apart, there is bound to be hype because of the type of film OSO is. It’s the best kind of debut I could have ever asked for. It has everything – great music, romance and to top it all SRK!”

Although tight-lipped about the other films being offered to her, Deepika does admit to going through at least three scripts a week. “But I have signed on no other film. I can’t think beyond OSO. You could say that I’m having an affair with it,” she says, the twinkle in her eyes brighter than ever.

And what about a certain affair of the Ranbir Kapoor kind? “I won’t deny that Ranbir is a part of my life,” Deepika pauses, only to add, “…but as a friend and nothing else. We have been spending a lot of time together and I guess that when you go out with a group of friends, with only two of us being known faces, speculation is bound to be there. And I am prepared for it. It is a part and parcel of an actor’s life.”

Rubbishing rumours of a roadside fight between Ranbir and ex-boyfriend Nihar Pandya, Deepika gets upset with the very mention of the alleged brawl. “Nihar and I are not seeing each other anymore, so there is no question him fighting over me,” says an exasperated Deepika. “Both Ranbir and Nihar come from good families and the two of them don’t need to get into a fight – publicly or privately. They are mature and intelligent enough not to fight over me.”

Still friends with Nihar, Deepika is also hurt about reports that she “used his family to set up base in Mumbai”. “That was the limit! Nihar’s family isn’t like my family. They are my family and I am their daughter – irrespective if I’m seeing him or not,” she says with that same determination that seems to be becoming her trademark.

“Yes, I am a very determined person who puts her career first – above all things,” she says pointedly. “Love and friendship, all can wait. I have lost a lot of friends because of this determination. Today my priorities are my career and my family and I will do anything to nurture the two of them!”

Not averse to showing skin, or even wearing a bikini on screen, Deepika seems a virtual breath of fresh air when compared to the likes of the “ask mummy!” brigade. “I don’t mind wearing a bikini because I know that I can carry one off. I’m very sure of what I can do and what I can’t. As long as I’m enjoying it, it’s fine,” she says without batting an eyelid.

With her pretty head firmly screwed onto her shoulders, Deepika says that she is prepared for both, the bouquets and brickbats that may come her way. “I have a very long way to go in terms of my acting abilities. To me failure and success are two sides of the same coin and accepting them both equally is what I truly believe shapes me as the person that I am. So all I can say is bring it on!”

Going by the plum projects that Deepika Padukone is bagging, it looks like she is swiftly on her way to being the next It girl in Bollywood, even before her first sighting on screen. After her debut film Om Shanti Om opposite Shah Rukh Khan and Siddharth Anand’s next for Yash Raj Films, Deepika is next in line to be featured opposite Hrithik Roshan after Preity Zinta and Priyanka Chopra in Krrish’s sequel.

Speculations were rife whether Priyanka Chopra would once be again considered for the sequel to Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish. But if sources are to be believed, Deepika has bagged the much sought-after role opposite Hrithik.

Given the fact that both the earlier films have been Aleague projects this project is sure to further help Deepika firmly entrench herself in the industry.

What’s surprising about the newcomer bagging this project is that Preity and Priyanka, were selected for Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish respectively after they had proved their mettle over the years. Deepika’s news comes as a surprise as she doesn’t have a single film release to her credit so far.

A source says, “It is confirmed that Deepika Padukone has been finalised for Krrish’s sequel opposite Hrithik. Though the Roshans are still working on their script, it’s decided that the film will be shot extensively in foreign locations.”

Deepika refused to comment and says, “I haven’t received confirmation from the Roshans yet.”

The critics were not too lenient with their reviews on Priyanka’s performance in Krrish in which her acting and clothes were criticized, while Preity couldn’t be accommodated in the script. So, the Roshans decided to go for a fresh face to dazzle opposite Hrithik this time.

She’s just been awarded the model of the year and has even been signed on as the international ambassador for a hotshot cosmetic brand and incidentally, is the first ever Indian to do so! Deepika Padukone, back in town for a month to give her exams, is quite excited. “I’ve got plenty on my platter and I’m looking forward to my debut film Aishwarya.”

So how was it working with superstar Upendra?
“It was nice, he would guide me whenever I needed help and never once made me feel like a newcomer. But once work was through, I would go back to my room because I don’t believe in wasting time hanging around the sets making small talk. I would interact with everybody but only when required, it’s best that way.”

She’s had her first brush with glitz. Her impressions? Did she experience any ‘strange’ incidents?
“No, that’s because I’ve always conducted myself with dignity. I think it’s very important for a woman not to send the wrong signals.”

She also insists she will never be part of the bare all and kiss’n'tell brigade
“I’m never going to do anything that makes me or my parents uncomfortable. That includes wearing skimpy clothes and onscreen kissing. Yeah, I did wear swimsuits for glam calendars but that’s because it’s still photography and I know exactly where the camera is placed and the angle that’s shot, which is not the case in films.”

Meanwhile there’s a huge buzz about her being offered Bollywood films by the dozen
“Yes I’m being flooded with offers from big banners. But I won’t rush into anything.”

There are also rumours about how Wendell Rodricks, and more importantly, Shah Rukh Khan have been promoting her. True?
“Wendell is my favourite designer and a very dear friend. I relate to him because both of us share a similar sense of style. I’ve heard Shah Rukh too has seen some of my pictures and campaigns and liked my face. So if both of them are recommending me to people they must see something in me!”

And once she makes it big, she plans to experiment
“I’m going to start with commercial films and then am game for anything be it crossover, art, de-glam, Hinglish….”

Her ideal roles?
“Madhubala in Mughal-e-Azam, I loved her in it.”

When she’s not working, it’s definitely not play time
“I’m happy chilling at home with friends.” But what about the hotshot model she’s supposedly seeing in Mumbai? “Oh my God, I’m not seeing any model. Besides that, I’m not going to say anything about my personal life.”